How Millenials Might Prefer a Reduced Work Week
Michael Spencer
A.I. Writer, researcher and curator - full-time Newsletter publication manager.
Amid experiments in Sweden and a crushing work week in many parts of Asia like Singapore, there's been a lot of buzz around what a reduced work week could mean for Millennials.
Amazon's Pilot Stirs Debate
The truth is, Amazon's 30 hour work week pilot, could be a sign of things to come. This is the office water cooler topic that opens up a great divide, how does a work-at-all-costs culture find life-work balance without losing too much already scarce income?
There's some evidence, Millennials would actually prefer such a reality.
Research has shown that young adults aren’t necessarily interested in the traditional workplace environment and that their work-life balance is crucial to them.
Amazon's pilot would feature the 30-hour work week members getting 75% of their normal salary and retain full benefits.
This could Impact the Women in Tech Story
Still others see it as a ploy to make Amazon more female friendly, in the whole women in tech debate. More flexible hours are nothing new in Sweden, but how does such a system translate to corporate America, Asia and Silicon valley culture remains to be seen.
Preliminary results of a reduced work week in healthcare suggests increased productivity and better employee retention.
Could this be what Silicon Valley Needs?
Will the business world seek to emulate Scandinavian and West coast trials? We live in a world obsessed with the idea that working harder means being more productive, and defacto, more successful.
Top companies like Amazon and Tesla often receive scathing reports about working conditions, so it's big news that a company of Amazon's size and reputation would be trialing a 30-hour week pilot.
But could such an initiative help major tech companies find more inclusion and diversity in their workforce or could it backfire?
What is the message to ambitious Millennial women, that they somehow need the handicap of a reduced work week to fit into these work cultures? Because we as a society still count on women for the majority of unpaid labor in our households and raising our futures?
A Schedule that's More Productive?
Staffing experts suggest this is a step in the right direction:
They’re wisely paying attention to the demands of the marketplace. Many employees are seeking reduced hours and more flexible work options.
It turns out reduced work weeks may not just be better for stress, work-life balance and improved productivity, it may be the silver bullet to attract Millennial talent and a way to allow stay-at-home moms and dads who have untapped skills the ability to work while their kids are in school (e.g. a 10am to 2pm + flex hours) schedule. This could be a way to open the door to many more candidates.
Millennials are known to crave better work-life balance and prioritize diversity of experience and not just career, and companies are learning strategies to empower our changing relationship to work itself.
Do you believe a 30 hour work week has the power to change lives for the better and can attract Millennials seeking better work-life balance?
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8 年I think we need to stop focusing on telling employees when they must be at work, and focus on telling them what results are required from their work.
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8 年Question here: Would 30-hr employees be expected to produce the same results as they had before? If so, then they should keep the full salary; if not, then the salary reduction is to be expected—but then, how will Amazon make up the shortfall?
Indie apps, Android, iOS, MacOS, Windows, and Web. I like finding the pain points and taking them away. Full-Stack Dev
8 年The trick is in cutting work hours WHILE keeping benefits. The ratio does not follow. Reducing both hours and pay by 25% has no effect on the employer's share of contributions (except for those directly tied to employee earnings). Employer costs would rise for the same total employee hours. Perhaps there would be a corresponding productivity boost, but, I think quantifying such may prove impossible. Many companies, particularly south of the 49th parallel, cut hours to avoid paying benefits. I wonder if the idea will spur the gig economy further? All in all, an interesting experiment that I will keep an eye on. Thanks Mike.